Growth

The CIDA internship is a great experience for one to apply what he/she has learnt in school and utilize and strengthen those skills to a new level; gaining much experience for future employment opportunities. It creates an awareness that truly allows someone to see their fit in the world, and part of something truly larger than what we once thought were part up. This is a citizenship, a global citizenship that all people are interconnected and affected by one another. This interconnectivity as a system would described by Joshua Cooper Ramo as a sand pile, with numerous variables all unpredictable and all independent but part of a larger entity. Viewing a business, society, nation,  and world as a macro system is what really allows one to gain a true perspective of how reliant we are on one another and how all of our actions have impact.

I began the Internship with CIDA with an understanding of global citizenship, cross-cultural differences and a level of respect that I would have considered weapons entering the development world. Then, I went to Peru. It is my first time living outside of Canada and my first time to be completely submerged in a new culture. The weapons I came equipped with helped a smooth transition, but little did I know how little I knew. I came to Peru with the belief of creating an impact and right away felt as if I was the one being impacted on a consistent basis. This was a strong feeling of awe at all times. I anticipated culture shock and thought it might have been a mixture of feelings and confusion. Instead, culture shock was nothing but remarkable. In fact so much that it didn’t take long to start planning for my return or change in location for future employment.

We were told about how patience is an important virtue to have and to be honest other than what I expected from culture studies. I have not had to really exercise patients to much while here. I felt as if at home, around many great people; some who have almost nothing and will still give you the shirt off their backs if asked. I can’t ignore the difference with time perspectives though, this is something we can work to improve or adjust our work ways to create a more efficient and productive day.

At this moment I am working at Nexos with Ronny, and Audrey. Only three of us and the amount of work is piling up. This is actually a great feeling with many challenges. Our trio is the perfect combination to grow and learn. I am working with two very bright people who have completed many things in their lives and have so much to offer for my absorption of new skills and approaches to business. The two of them could not be a better set to work with in Urubamba. The beautiful thing about working for an organization is the ability to showcase your abilities. An even more beautiful concept is the actualization of your weaknesses. This actualization is an amazing thing to identify and work on.

Therefore, the internship has caused more opportunity for growth, more than I could have ever imagined. What this has done was caused some confusion in what direction I will go in the future. I would not have it any other way. So I thank Niagara College, Nexos Voluntarios and CIDA for making this happen.